Oakland Museum of California blogshttp://museumca.org/blog
enA "City" fights to end poverty http://museumca.org/blog/city-fights-end-poverty
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
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<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p><b>Civil rights leaders and others gather in nation’s capital to demand change </b></p>
<p> <b>They came by train. Some traveled by bus. Others made the long, slow trek in covered wagons led by mules.</b> But no matter where they came from, those who journeyed to the nation's capital in May 1968 were there for a common purpose: to bring attention to the plight of America's neediest, and to demand that leaders take action. </p>
<p> Drawn by the message of the Poor People's Campaign - organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as an extension of the civil rights movement - more than 6,000 Americans descended upon the National Mall. They were there to join others demanding a bill of economic rights providing employment, income and housing for the nation's poor. The diverse crowd erected tents and built plywood houses, and many would set out daily for government offices. For a few weeks, "Resurrection City" was ground zero in the struggle for economic equality. </p>
<p> Photographs show that at least for a time, the makeshift metropolis thrived. There was food, health care, schools, a City Hall and even a mayor. But the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and uncooperative weather soon spelled the end of the encampment. Torrential rains turned the city into a sea of mud; violence began to erupt and there was an alarming lack of toilets and showers. </p>
<p> On June 19, "mayor" Ralph Abernathy led a nonviolent march through the streets of Washington D.C. More than 50,000 people walked and were later addressed by Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Campaign's most prominent organizer. Despite the push, no economic bill of rights was passed. The permit to assemble was revoked and police bulldozed the camp. </p>
<p> More than 40 years later, members of the Occupy movement pitched tents in various cities across the country, including Oakland. Although different in scale, tone and spirit, the Occupy camps became important centers of protest for those struggling to end economic disparity - much like "Resurrection City." </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/Occupy.jpg" height="368" width="523" /><br /> Photo courtesy of Oakland North's <a href="http://oaklandnorth.net/2011/10/21/occupy-oakland-tent-city-faces-eviction/">coverage of Occupy Oakland by Amina Waheed and Byrhonda Lyons.</a> </p>
<p>Walking through <a href="/1968">The 1968 Exhibit,</a> it's not unusual to see people standing before the large image of a makeshift city on the grounds of the nation's capital. And it's not surprising to hear some commenting that they never knew it existed; it seems as if the attention paid to other milestones of the civil rights movement has mostly eluded "Resurrection City" until recently. But whether it's your first time hearing about it or not, chances are you won't forget it. </p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:02:20 +0000kkoski2153 at http://museumca.orgTake a culture “trip” at OMCA’s Summer Nightshttp://museumca.org/blog/take-culture-%E2%80%9Ctrip%E2%80%9D-omca%E2%80%99s-summer-nights
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p> <b>Climbing<br />
up the steps of a bus painted in swirling, psychedelic colors, I<br />
paused, then pulled back the velvet curtain obscuring the vehicle's<br />
interior. </b> </p>
<p> Although<br />
it was parked in front of OMCA, and not rolling through<br />
the streets on one of its magical multimedia tours, <a href="http://magicbussf.com/">The Magic Bus</a><br />
momentarily took me to another place. A hippy, trippy mobile theater<br />
that whisks passengers away on a unique historical tour of San<br />
Francisco's grooviest streets, it transported me to the 1960s via window<br />
shades that doubled as video screens, snippets of an engaging audio<br />
tour and the music of the era. </p>
<p> Which<br />
was a wholly appropriate place to "visit" given that the bus was at the<br />
museum during a night of activities centering on two current<br />
exhibitions "The 1968 Exhibit" and its companion show "All of Us or<br />
None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area." </p>
<p> Billed<br />
as <a href="/calendar/omca-summer-nights-2">Summer Nights</a> the event occurs final Fridays and features<br />
demonstrations, talks, free films and other programming that enhances<br />
what's on display in the galleries. It's also a fun way to spend an<br />
evening. </p>
<p> That's<br />
what I did last month when I boarded The Magic Bus before checking out<br />
the rest of the night's offerings, which included a silkscreen<br />
demonstration by artist Jeff Boozer in the "All of None" gallery.<br />
Families sat<br />
a table making art while people milled around looking at the plethora<br />
of vintage silk-screened posters on display. Others grabbed freshly-made<br />
prints from a stack and brought them to Boozer to sign. </p>
<p> Then<br />
it was off to "The 1968 Exhibit" where museum goers gathered around the<br />
Huey helicopter and kicked back on bean bags to catch snippets of<br />
classic TV. Danielle Dowers was there, checking out the "Resurrection<br />
City" display. </p>
<p> An<br />
East Bay resident, Danielle said she'd come to see the exhibit because<br />
her brother was DJ'ing at the museum that night. There was a lot to<br />
digest in the show, she said, and recalled being a 9-year-old in 1968. </p>
<p> "I remember Vietnam. I remember MLK being shot," she said. "I remember being fearful." </p>
<p> Hannah<br />
Tandeta and friends were teenagers in 1968 and laughed and pointed as<br />
they made their way through the exhibit. "It's just great," Tandeta said<br />
about the show. "We keep seeing things we own; that were in our parents<br />
house. It's all so familiar." </p>
<p> "I<br />
thought it was an astounding display," said Jenny. "So much genuine<br />
sadness and so much patriotism." Edin recalled the musical "Hair" and<br />
said nothing's changed. "It's not like we solved the issues," she said.<br />
"It's all so familiar." </p>
<p> Next<br />
was the Gallery of California Art, which like the Gallery of California<br />
History, is open on "Summer Nights," then it was the Daniel Clowes<br />
exhibit before drifting out into the Oak Street Plaza. The sky was a<br />
deep lavender and people sat<br />
in chairs, watching Sidney Poitier and Katherine Hepburn's characters<br />
work out their differences in the classic 1968 film "Guess Who's Coming<br />
to Dinner." It was the perfect end to a culture-filled "Summer" evening. </p>
<p> <b>Catch the next "Summer Nights" tonight, Friday, June 27!<br /></b>The Magic Bus will be parked in front of the museum and artists and<br />
museum staffers Lisa Silberstein and Anthony Pinata will offer a<br />
silkscreen demonstration in the "All of Us or None" exhibit beginning at<br />
6 p.m. Graphic novelists Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware will be talking<br />
with OMCA senior curator of art Réne de Guzman and curator Susan Miller<br />
at 7 p.m. in the James Moore Theater. A book signing follows. And plan<br />
on staying for the film "Funny Girl" which is screening under the stars<br />
in the Oak Street Plaza from 8:30 - 10:30 p.m. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> <img src="/files/uploads/omca612_454.jpg" height="399" width="600" /></p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/omca612_495.jpg" height="399" width="600" /></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:23:29 +0000kkoski2047 at http://museumca.orgMovin' and shakin' to keep the music goinghttp://museumca.org/blog/movin-and-shakin-keep-music-going
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p><i> <b>1968 Moment: Famed concert promotor Bill Graham switches venues amidst tensions, violence </b> </i></p>
<p> After more than three years at the center of Bay Area rock n' roll, Bill Graham needed to make some major changes if he wanted to help keep the music alive. </p>
<p> It was the beginning of summer 1968 and the Fillmore Auditorium, the hugely popular San Francisco concert venue that hosted some of the era's premiere musicians, was facing shrinking audiences. Rage over the recent assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. was boiling in the predominantly black neighborhood where the Fillmore was located, and violence was spilling out onto the streets. </p>
<p> Since opening the Fillmore in December of 1965, the charismatic Graham had lured thousands of music fans into the auditorium to dance and munch on apples while listening to some of America's most cutting-edge bands. But ticket snatching and purse grabbing, along with other crimes, were taking their toll on concertgoers. When word came that the Carousel Ballroom - a former car dealership now outfitted with a stage - was closing, the promoter made his move. </p>
<p> The day after pulling out of the auditorium, Graham put on the first show at the new location, which stood on the corner of Market Street and South Van Ness. But while the space was different and much larger than the previous, Graham made sure it felt familiar. </p>
<p> Balloons rested on the ballroom floor. There were apples downstairs and bulletin boards where people could post photos and clippings, just like they'd done at the previous Fillmore. The promoter himself would stand at the top of the stairs placing tickets in a bucket before the lights dimmed and the liquid projections began. Calling it a great laboratory, the Fillmore West was "a place where people could let their hair down," Graham wrote in his autobiography. </p>
<p> The first concent featured two acts: the Butterfield Blues Band, a rock group led by the guitarist Paul Butterfield, and the English band Ten Years After. Other shows followed. By the time Graham decided to close the venue a few years later along with New York sibling the Fillmore East, a who's who of the era's most famous musicians had taken the stage. </p>
<p> The final shows were held at the beginning of July 1971, and featured such acts as Hot Tuna, Tower of Power, Taj Mahal and the Grateful Dead. When the Fillmore West's doors finally closed July 4, Graham told the press he'd shuttered the venue because he was disillusioned with the mass commercialization of the music scene, rampant drug abuse and greedy performers.</p>
<p>But he was nowhere near done being a concert promoter. After a trip to the Mediterranean to recharge and recover, Graham was back in the saddle booking shows, managing groups and filling music venues. He continued to do just that until his tragic death on Oct. 25, 1991. </p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:12:21 +0000kkoski2033 at http://museumca.orgDoors' "Waiting for the Sun" shines despite shadowshttp://museumca.org/blog/doors-waiting-sun-shines-despite-shadows
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p><i><b> Third album from LA-based group shoots to the top of the charts </b></i></p>
<p> Catchy lyrics. Bouncy keyboards. Sinewy, jagged guitar. "Hello, I Love You," the leadoff song from the Doors third album "Waiting for the Sun," had all the hallmarks of a hit single. </p>
<p> The tunes that followed threw critics for a loop. "Love Street" was a tinkling ballad describing a beloved's idyllic yet vaguely nightmarish abode; "Summer's Almost Gone" found lead singer Jim Morrison in a detached, melancholy mood; in "My Wild Love" the Los Angeles-based four-piece eschewed rock n' roll for hand claps, rattles, and chants. </p>
<p> Described as autumnal and mellower than the Door's first two records, the album was nevertheless embraced by fans who sent it and the first song to the top of the charts. Released July 11, 1968, "Waiting for the Sun" became Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore's first and only number one album. </p>
<p> It was originally conceived as a vehicle for "Celebration of the Lizard," a theatrical nearly 15-minute long multipart song that was to be the highlight of the album. But the centerpiece was dropped after the band failed to perfect the song in the studio. Still, the lyrics were printed inside the gatefold sleeve of the album's cover, which featured an illustration of a lizard. </p>
<p> The record that was eventually released does have one or two weak moments but they're balanced by searing recordings such as the apocalyptic and eerie "Not to Touch the Earth," excerpted from "Celebration of the Lizard," and "The Unknown Soldier," an urgent, dramatic jab at the Vietnam War that featured the sounds of an execution by gunfire followed by cries that "the war is over!" Clocking in at under 33 minutes, the album closed with "Five to One," where a sultry, vaguely menacing Morrison growled lyrics about the young getting stronger and "no one here" getting out alive. </p>
<p> There were other albums that July. The Grateful Dead released "Anthem of the Sun"; a cast recording of "Hair" hit the shelves and so did The Band's "Music from the Big Pink." But there was nothing quite like the Door's "Waiting for the Sun." Urgent, morose and often creepy, the record is a perfect soundtrack to the year's unsettled summer. </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 12 Jul 2012 22:20:07 +0000kkoski2034 at http://museumca.orgStreet wars in Berkeley, Demonstrations supporting French students and striking workers turn violenthttp://museumca.org/blog/street-wars-berkeley-demonstrations-supporting-french-students-and-striking-workers-turn
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 12px; font: 9.5px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small"><b><br />It was June 1968. It seemed as if the world had descended into violence.</b></span></font></span></p>
<p>Andy<br />
Warhol, the platinum-haired Pop artist whose cheeky soup can paintings<br />
rocked the art world, nearly died after being shot. Just two days later,<br />
a prominent American family suffered another tragedy when Senator<br />
Robert F. Kennedy was killed after claiming an important political<br />
victory.</p>
<p>By<br />
month’s end, the Basque separatist group ETA had made its first killing<br />
in the quest for freedom and bulldozers had mowed down a huge<br />
encampment on the National Mall that had been occupied by protesters<br />
wanting to bring attention to the poor.</p>
<p>But<br />
it was striking French workers and students and their displeasure with<br />
the policies of President Charles de Gaulle that inspired some American<br />
youths to take a stand and express their desires for change.<br />
Unfortunately, their demonstrations were soon marred by violence.</p>
<p>On<br />
the night of June 28, 1968, students had gathered in front of one of<br />
Berkeley’s most recognized landmarks to show their solidarity with their<br />
French counterparts. More than 2000 people gathered at the University<br />
of California at Berkeley to stage a protest of their own. </p>
<p>According<br />
to a June 29 article in the <i>San Francisco Chronicle,</i> the first clash<br />
came when police chief William Beales told protesters their<br />
demonstration was illegal. More than a dozen officers began to walk down<br />
Telegraph Ave. coaxing those seated in the street to get up and on the<br />
sidewalk. When that move failed, hundreds of police armed with<br />
nightsticks began to march, only to be greeted with bottles and garbage<br />
raining down from apartment windows.</p>
<p>Soon, sticks were replaced with canisters and tear gas enveloped retreating protesters in thick noxious clouds. </p>
<p>But<br />
the battle wasn’t over. A short while later, hundreds of students<br />
erected a massive barricade made of trash cans, bike racks and other<br />
objects in front of the university’s famed Sather Gate. Minutes after it<br />
went up, more tear gas was launched and a bonfire blazed in the<br />
street.</p>
<p>Violence<br />
flared again the next evening but this time the crowds were bigger and<br />
better prepared. Many donned helmets and gas masks when their peaceful<br />
demonstration devolved into chaos. </p>
<p>At<br />
night’s end, fires had broken out over several blocks. A furniture<br />
store was in flames. Molotov cocktails flew, windows were smashed and<br />
police continued to use chemical weapons. </p>
<p>A month that had started with violence unfortunately ended with violence; June had left America in shock.</p>
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</div></div></div>Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:22:05 +0000kkoski2030 at http://museumca.orgSounds of '68http://museumca.org/blog/sounds-68
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p> From psychedelic rock to country and jazz, the soundtrack of 1968 was a kaleidoscope of sounds. </p>
<p> Just<br />
take a look at the colorful tapestry of album sleeves decorating a<br />
portion of "The 1968 Exhibit." Stroll around and you'll see only a few<br />
of the hundreds of records released that year. They include Canadian<br />
folk songstress Joni Mitchell's debut double-album "Song to a Seagull"; <br />
Diana Ross &amp; the Supremes "Love Child," a record whose number one<br />
single told the story of a child born out of wedlock, and<br />
singer-songwriter Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison," an emotional set of<br />
songs played in a California penitentiary. From avant-garde jazz to<br />
stirring soul, 1968 seemed to have it all. </p>
<p> Here's a look at some of the year's musical moments: </p>
<p> <b>The Rise of the Fillmore East</b> </p>
<p> In<br />
March, Bay Area rock promoter Bill Graham opened the Fillmore East in an<br />
abandoned theater in New York City. The space was dubbed "the Church<br />
of Rock n' Roll" and featured two nightly shows and a number of the<br />
period's best known acts. Many live albums were recorded there including<br />
sets by the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead and Miles Davis. </p>
<p> <b>Brown soothes Boston</b> </p>
<p> One day after the April 4<br />
assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., soul<br />
singer James Brown took the stage in Boston to perform a stirring batch<br />
of songs. The concert was broadcast on public television, and it is said<br />
to have kept many from rioting in the streets. </p>
<p> <b>'Age of Aquarius'</b> </p>
<p> On April 29,<br />
the musical "Hair" shook off its off-Broadway trappings and leapt into<br />
the big time. Set in New York City, the Broadway show explored themes<br />
near and dear to the counterculture including drug use, sex, war and<br />
race. A worldwide smash, the rock opera spawned a Grammy-winning live<br />
recording featuring the original cast. </p>
<p> <b>The White Album</b> </p>
<p> Following<br />
a sojourn in India to soak up the teachings of guru and Transcendental<br />
Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Beatles hunkered down to<br />
record a self-titled album that is known more popularly as "the White<br />
Album." The double-LP boasted a range of genres including psychedelic<br />
rock, country, classical and vintage music hall and spawned the hits<br />
"Hey Jude" and "Revolution." Unfortunately, the album was linked to the<br />
brutal 1969 Charles Manson murders that put a tragic end to the decade. </p>
<p> <b>World beat</b> </p>
<p> 1968<br />
was musically significant in other parts of the world. Brazilian<br />
singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso released his first album, a self-titled<br />
affair melding poetry, traditional Brazilian music, psychedelia and<br />
pop; Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley and his bandmates Rita Marley,<br />
Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh were working hard to nail down a<br />
commercial sound. Malian musician Ali Farka Toure had just bought his<br />
first guitar and was busy soaking up the music of James Brown, Otis<br />
Redding, John Lee Hooker and other blues luminaries. </p>
<p> <b>Revolutionary rhythms</b> </p>
<p> Although<br />
they didn't release their debut album until 1970, Harlem-based The Last<br />
Poets trace their roots back to 1968. It was then that members Abiodun<br />
Oyewole, Jalal Mansur Nuriddin and Umar Bin Hassan formed a musical<br />
group that placed radical poetry against a soundtrack of drumming and<br />
jazz. Inspiration came from the politics of the Black Panther Party and<br />
the African American experience. </p>
<p> The<br />
year's albums included Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks"; Marvin Gaye's "I<br />
Heard It Through the Grapevine"; "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" by<br />
the Incredible String Band; Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful of Secrets"; The<br />
Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat" ; "Dance to the Music" by<br />
Sly and the Family Stone and Jimmy Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland." Top<br />
hits included Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"; Simon<br />
&amp; Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson"; "Grazing in the Grass" by Hugh<br />
Masekela and The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye." </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:29:52 +0000kkoski2021 at http://museumca.org‘Rosemary’s Baby’ brings chill to summer of ‘68http://museumca.org/blog/%E2%80%98rosemary%E2%80%99s-baby%E2%80%99-brings-chill-summer-%E2%80%9868
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p align="justify"> <b>Beware your overly friendly, slightly kooky neighbors - and be careful what you wish for.</b> </p>
<p align="justify"> Those warnings appear to be at the heart of<br />
director Roman Polanski's horror film "Rosemary's Baby" which debuted in<br />
movie theaters in the summer of 1968. But there's something far more<br />
dark and sinister lurking beneath the film's slick surface.
</p>
<p align="justify"> Inspired by Ira Levin's bestselling novel, the<br />
movie starred Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse and John Cassavetes as<br />
her husband, a struggling actor named Guy. While hunting for a new home,<br />
the young couple become enchanted with an older New York City apartment<br />
and move in, only to learn later about the nefarious goings-on of<br />
previous tenants. After the shocking suicide of a resident, the pair<br />
reluctantly befriend their elderly neighbors and begin trying to<br />
conceive. Following what at first seems to be a nightmare, Rosemary<br />
discovers she is pregnant and eventually learns that her baby is the<br />
Devil's offspring. </p>
<p align="justify"> Audiences packed theaters to catch the<br />
groundbreaking horror film that was light on blood but heavy on<br />
psychological terror. Although they may seem campy today,<br />
Rosemary's dream sequences and the movie's ending shocked filmgoers and<br />
dazzled critics. The film scored awards, too. Ruth Gordon, who played<br />
the eccentric Minnie Castavet, snagged an Oscar for her acting and star<br />
Farrow was nominated for a Golden Globe. </p>
<p align="justify"> Yet while "Rosemary's Baby" lives up to its<br />
billing as a horror film, it's also possible to view it as a commentary<br />
on the generation gap that fueled the counterculture. The gaggle of<br />
neighbors who Rosemary believes are plotting against her are much older,<br />
and seem eager to latch onto her youth and naiveté for their own<br />
devious purpose. Those that she turns to for salvation are her peers.
</p>
<p align="justify"> The movie also gives contemporary audiences a<br />
glimpse into the highly orchestrated role - and tightly-coiled angst -<br />
of a mid-20th century housewife. Everything in Rosemary's world is<br />
minutely controlled by others and her attempts at freedom ultimately<br />
prove fruitless.
</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 12 Jun 2012 23:34:29 +0000kkoski2017 at http://museumca.org Hopes dashed one fateful June night http://museumca.org/blog/hopes-dashed-one-fateful-june-night
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p> <b>Senator Kennedy shot at the Ambassador Hotel after delivering speech</b><br /> <br />On the night Sen. Robert F. Kennedy won the California Democratic presidential primary, his thoughts were focused on gratitude and how Americans could work together to end their divisions.</p>
<p>During his victory speech June 5 inside the ballroom at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, the 42-year-old thanked family, friends and supporters for their help and said he believed the country could unite despite war and violence. </p>
<p>But minutes after finishing his address, Kennedy’s hopes and dreams were shattered when he entered the hotel kitchen on the way to a news conference. As he paused to shake hands with a busboy, he was shot multiple times by a young man named Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. Twenty-six hours later he was dead.</p>
<p>Photographer Bill Eppridge was one of the journalists who documented the ensuing chaos. His image of stunned busboy Juan Romero cradling the fallen senator’s head remains a searing depiction of shock and loss and is one of the most gripping images in "The 1968 Exhibit." Enlarged on a wall, it provides a sober backdrop for a display case containing a campaign brochure and buttons that speak of Kennedy’s political promise. Underneath is a hotel cart from the Ambassador stocked with coffee cups and saucers, a silver creamer and plates.</p>
<p>Take a few more steps and you’re transported by a video screen and audio into a railway car snaking its way from New York to Washington D.C. Image after image shows faces etched with grief, sadness, anxiety, fear, and hopelessness. In one photograph a woman kneels in prayer; in another a police officer stationed beside some tracks salutes the fallen senator. As the train carrying Kennedy made its way toward his final resting place, mothers and children stood with their hands held over their hearts and countless others paid their respects, including a couple holding a sign reading "So Long Bobby." </p>
<p>The pictures, taken by Eppridge and Magnum photographer Paul Fusco, show Americans mourning yet another leader lost to violence. Martin Luther King Jr. had been murdered two months earlier and many were still grappling with the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As the Vietnam War raged on and racial tensions gripped the country, Robert Kennedy represented for many a youthful promise of hope and was thought to be on his way to his party’s nomination and a possible presidency.</p>
<p>Instead, his lifeless body was headed to the nation’s capitol and he was buried near his brother in Arlington National Cemetery. </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/RFK.jpg" height="590" width="400" /></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:45:50 +0000gelere2007 at http://museumca.orgGetting groovy at OMCA's Golden Galahttp://museumca.org/blog/getting-groovy-omcas-golden-gala
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p> On Saturday, May 19, 2012, OMCA set the stage for a dazzling and magical night inspired by the 60s and the special traveling exhibition <a href="/exhibit/the-1968-project">The 1968 Exhibit</a>. Guests came decked to the nines in funky 60s attire and got groovy with a live auction and dinner with rad retro flair by Barbara Llewellyn Catering. The night ended with Gala guests getting their groove on to <a href="http://wallstreetdanceband.net/">Wall Street</a>, one<br />
of the Bay Area's hottest dance bands . All proceeds from the evening benefit Oakland Museum<br />
of California's education programs. </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/OMCA_GALA_0413.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></p>
<p> OMCA CEO Lori Fogarty and Senior Curator of History Louise Pubols </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/OMCA_GALA_0559_0.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></p>
<p> Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and artist Hung Liu </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/OMCA_GALA_0771.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></p>
<p> Leland and Celia Douglas, Melissa Heller, and OMCA Trustee Steve Douglas </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/OMCA_GALA_036701.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></p>
<p> Gala guests wig out to <a href="http://wallstreetdanceband.net/">Wall Street</a>, one<br />
of the Bay Area's hottest dance bands. </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/OMCA_GALA_0973.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="/files/uploads/OMCA_GALA_0951.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></p>
<p> <img src="/files/uploads/OMCA_GALA_0396.jpg" height="600" width="400" /></p>
<p> Jennifer Walker, Gala Chair and OMCA Trustee </p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 29 May 2012 19:45:22 +0000kkoski1995 at http://museumca.orgPolitical posters help illuminate 1968http://museumca.org/blog/political-posters-help-illuminate-1968
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">
<p class="field-label">Topic:&nbsp;</p>
<ul class="field-items">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topic/1968-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The 1968 Exhibit</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd" property="content:encoded"><p> <b>'All of Us or None' curator explores personal, artistic links to momentuous year <br /></b>
</p>
<p> If you've seen <a href="/1968">The 1968 Exhibit </a>you've probably come across <a href="/exhibit/all-us-or-none-social-justice-posters-san-francisco-bay-area">All<br />
of Us or None</a>, an excellent showcase of political posters drawn from<br />
a large archive amassed by late Free Speech Movement organizer and<br />
activist Michael Rossman. </p>
<p>The more than 23,000-piece collection is now part of the Oakland<br />
Museum and is overseen by archivist, author, artist and librarian<br />
Lincoln Cushing, who curated the poster exhibit. Cushing selected 68<br />
works - all made in the San Francisco Bay Area - that illustrate the<br />
artistic, social and cultural concerns of the period. </p>
<p>But Cushing's ties to poster art extend beyond the "All of Us or<br />
None" collection. His love for the art form stretches back to<br />
adolescence. In 1968, he was a high school student in Washington D.C.<br />
and says that "anybody with a pulse" was aware of the political movement<br />
swirling around them. </p>
<p>Art was definitely part of the mix and inspired by posters he had<br />
seen, Cushing made his first silkscreen print in 1969. It was a piece<br />
about the generation gap.<br />
He explains that in those days, there was a real difference between<br />
young and old. "The idea of going into a world that was straight and<br />
gray was not appealing," he says. "There was a massive youth culture<br />
itching for something else, something attractive and utopian." </p>
<p>Cushing's poster, viewable on <br /><a href="http://www.docspopuli.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.docspopuli.org</a>,<br />
is titled "Two Worlds" and is a bold meditation on the idea of polar<br />
opposites. In it, a pair of silhouettes encased in an oval are separated<br />
by what looks like water. A long haired barefooted youth holding a<br />
guitar and flashing a peace sign is in one half and his opposite,<br />
dressed in a suit and holding a briefcase, is reflected in the other. </p>
<p>Cushing's poster production continued in San Diego where he<br />
attended college. He says he was influenced by the work of Sister Mary<br />
Corita, a Roman Catholic nun and revered artist who was<br />
making "provocative" artistic prints about social justice and civil<br />
rights. "They were beautiful," Cushing remembers. "They inspired me to<br />
jump in." </p>
<p>Fast forward to today<br />
and Cushing is still living and breathing the art form. Organizing the <a href="/exhibit/all-us-or-none-social-justice-posters-san-francisco-bay-area">All of None of Us</a> exhibition allowed him to focus on work created during<br />
several decades. </p>
<p>A companion to <a href="/1968">The 1968 Exhibit,</a> the display showcases three<br />
pieces made that year including a portrait of presidential candidate<br />
Eugene McCarthy by artist Wilfried "Sätty" Podreich. Another depicts a<br />
marijuana joint which Cushing says symbolizes the counterculture and the<br />
shedding of traditional roles and values of the previous decade.<br />
Rounded out by a piece on a strike at San Francisco State University,<br />
the works address three major themes of the 60s and 70s. </p>
<p>But despite the rise of TV and other mass mediums providing intense<br />
coverage of the Vietnam War and other social, political and cultural<br />
issues of that era, posters proved to be an incredibly powerful form of<br />
communication, Cushing explains. They were independent productions,<br />
created at very grass roots levels that "represented a vehicle to get<br />
the word out for poor, disenfranchised communities, Black Panthers,<br />
activists and those without television." </p>
<p>And while today's<br />
political posters might be addressing different subjects, their makers<br />
are definitely looking at the past for inspiration, Cushing says.<br />
"There's a resurgent interest in craft. People are feeling constrained<br />
and this generation is looking at a future that's not enormously happy.<br />
There's a thirst for handmade political prints."
</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 29 May 2012 19:32:50 +0000kkoski1994 at http://museumca.org